Saturday, November 9, 2019

CD Odyssey Disc 1315: La Sera

Today is the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was in university at the time and I skipped classes the whole day. I just sat at home watching the spectacle unfold on TV, occasionally wiping tears away from my face as I contemplated a world where maybe, just maybe, love would prevail. If not love, at least a tomorrow where a nuclear holocaust was a few ticks further away from midnight.

Sadly, is also the 81st anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night were Nazi stormtroopers attacked German Jews, and destroyed their businesses and places of worship, a harbinger of the horror of the holocaust that would follow.

Both events are a reminder that liberal democratic values are important, hard won and easily lost.

With that said, let’s move onto something much lighter – like this excellent next album.

Disc 1315 is… Sees the Light
Artist: La Sera

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? Principal singer/songwriter Katy Goodman, looking like she stepped out of some wistful sixties coming of age art film.

How I Came to Know It: I read a review of their 2016 release, “Music for Listening to Music To” (reviewed back at Disc 1178) and dug through their back catalogue from there.

How It Stacks Up:  I had two albums, but after reviewing “Music For Listening to Music To” I parted company with it. I think this entitles me to an exemption on the ‘can’t stack up’ common law. “Sees the Light” is the better of the two albums. It won’t be leaving my collection any time soon.

Ratings: 4 stars

Much like the album’s cover, “Sees the Light” is a throwback to the early sixties. It will lead you to sitting on beaches, staring pale and wan into autumn sunsets, but loving every minute of it.

The album has a sneaky simplicity that makes it easy to fall into. After only a couple listens the songs feel like old standards. The simplicity holds the secret to every pop song – the ability to make you anticipate what’s coming next, and then reward you for being right. The songs lilt along with a carefree breeziness that evokes slow drives in a convertible or hikes through a park.

Despite that simplicity I didn’t get tired of the music, and that’s a testament to the sneakiness I referenced earlier. While it is mostly just vocals, piano, guitar and drum, Goodman has a talent for what arrangement to employ for each tune. “Real Boy” goes with a light and lively guitar picking pattern that evokes youthful romanticism. “I’m Alone” has a similar guitar treatment but throws in some sharp and poignant drumbeats that add gravitas and switch the mood from new love, to love lost.

Goodman’s vocals are light and diffuse, further adding to the dreamy reverie of the record. While it is just her singing, she employs layers that gives the impression of a chorus of singers oohing and aahing for added gravitas (n.b. – there is no actual oohing and aahing, it just feels like there is).

The instruments (including vocals) are all presented very evenly in the mix. This lets your mind wander from instrument to instrument. I appreciated the understated drumming, the guitar licks and Goodman’s masterful phrasing all in equal measure, and on each listen, it was a pleasure to drift my attention from one thing to another.

For dream pop, “Sees the Light” is remarkably crisp, made possible by a folk aesthetic that prizes individual musicianship. Unlike some music from this genre and vintage, I never felt like someone had been relegated to plunking a single note once ever bar or having everyone bang away in a song-ending flourish that reveals an inability to wrap up the melody. Instead, these are carefully crafted songs, where each instrument has a full part to play in the whole.

The album is very tight as well. Ten songs that clock in at just over 30 minutes total playing time. These songs have a sixties radio play aesthetic, that gets in, develop the melody and call it a day. Don’t expect long-winded solos. There are a couple, but they’re rare and very restrained when they do appear. That said, the guitar interlude on “Love That’s Gone” is sublime and a must-listen if you’re wondering what song to start with. Conveniently, it is the first song on the album!

Despite all the sweetness and light, the album has considerable emotional range. Yes, they’re mostly about love found or love lost, but you get a full exploration of the theme. If you’re going to overload a record about a single topic, love is an obvious choice.

When I reviewed “Music for Listening to Music To” I noted that while I liked it overall it never grabbed me at a deeper level or reveal some new facet of itself over time. Not so, with “Sees the Light,” which kept unfurling new discoveries both lyrically and musically on every one of several listens. If you are interested in checking out La Sera, this is the album you should start with.

Best tracks: Love That’s Gone, I Can’t Keep You in My Mind, I’m Alone, Real Boy, Drive On

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